Monday, 1 October 2012

Brooks Vapor 9 - long term review

Brooks Vapor 9

Now I'm coming up to my first birthday with these shoes and they've had a good thrashing, now's the time to consider their performance. They have been worn alongside two pairs of Saucony Progrid Omni 10s which have proved useful benchmarkers. LIke many runners, I like to have two or three pairs of shoes on the go at any one time.

The Vapor 9s are fairly economical running shoes and aimed at mild pronators, just like myself and huge numbers of other runners. This is confirmed through the stiffer, grey section of the sole which controls the roll of the foot through the heel to toe movement. At the time of writing it appears they have been superseded by the Vapor 10 which is similar. These appear a natural replacement as a support shoe and are available in men's and women's versions with two colourways.

These shoes aren't bad at all, far from it. Right from the start I liked them and was pleased I took the shop's advice and went for a slightly larger size. It was easy to get used to them and I've been happy since over several hundred miles. Whether it is something to do with the material used for the sole or the tread pattern, I find the grip isn't as good as it could be, especially on wet tarmac. Having said that, a softer material would wear out quickly, which these certainly haven't.

These shoes have been thoroughly used. They have run through mud, streams, scrambled up steep banks, run along miles and miles of woodland trails (yay, the best!), grassy tracks, pavements and roads. The construction of the shoes have certainly proved themselves in a good light. They have not distorted, stretched, changed shape or anything like that. Lifting up the inner sole and looking at the stitching inside, it has remained tightly in place and that's a real credit.

Assuming the Vapor 10s are constructed to the same standards, you'll have a good pair of running shoes that will last the distance. Having just taken a quick look at other Vapor 10 reviews, my own comments about grip and ease are reflected elsewhere.